Ten startups report to new business accelerator in Spartanburg

Ten medical technology startups from all over the world comprising the inaugural class of The Iron Yard LLC's new business accelerator in Spartanburg punched in on Monday.

By TREVOR ANDERSONtrevor.anderson@shj.com

Ten medical technology startups from all over the world comprising the inaugural class of The Iron Yard LLC's new business accelerator in Spartanburg punched in on Monday.The teams, whose entrepreneurial concepts were chosen in June from a large pool of applicants, reported for duty at the Greenville-based accelerator's 7,000-square-foot downtown facility at 151 S. Daniel Morgan Ave. adjacent to Hub-Bub.They each received a welcome package that included a six-pack of RJ Rockers' Son of a Peach Wheat Ale, a basket of Spartanburg-grown peaches, a Visitors Guide and some other goodies with a local bent.It was the moment area business leaders have waited months for, ringing in what they believe is a new area in the county's entrepreneurial culture, on par with the technology startup trend that is sweeping much larger metropolitan areas across the nation.While only time will tell if the next big idea like Facebook or Google is among the flock, officials hope the accelerator will help create a fertile environment for cutting-edge ventures to thrive, creating jobs and investment.“It was one of those moments where you felt all of the pieces fell into place,” said Kate McCarthy, program manager for The Iron Yard. “It's really exciting. These are people who are taking big risks. It's our job to connect them with opportunities that will hopefully catapult them … It's 10 companies, but it really feels like one team. It's a real honor to be able to facilitate that.”McCarthy said each team is in a different stage of growth. Some have already launched their companies, while others are still refining their concepts.Each team gets $20,000 in seed funding and other perks in exchange for 6 percent equity in their company. They get amenities like legal and financial advice, office space, and living space on site for companies who relocate from out of town.The accelerator runs for three months, but companies get their office space for a full year.Some of the owners will live in apartments at Hub-Bub, or other residential developments downtown while they take part in the accelerator.

Participants said they are happy to be surrounded by other aspiring entrepreneurs in the medical field and believe that they can learn from each other as they plot out the future of their companies.“It has been exciting,” said Darlene Rodillo, co-owner of a startup that helps people connect nutrition to physical activity. “Just walking in, it has been cool to see the setup and to meet everybody. We all have different experiences.”Rodillo, of Abbeville, gave up a lucrative career in pharmaceutical sales to enter Clemson University's MBA program, where she met her business partner Richard Pascal of Chapin.“I really have no doubt that (The Iron Yard) will prepare us very well,” Rodillo said. “Just being chosen is justification enough that we have something … I couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited.”Max Gillespie, of Spartanburg, is an investor in MyDocTime, an online directory and scheduling tool for doctors started by Jim Ness, of Inman and Mike Roberts, of Greenville.He said he has high hopes that the accelerator will help transform Spartanburg's business landscape.“(Spartanburg) could be a hub for medical companies,” Gillespie said. “It's exciting to think that a town of this size could influence the future of technology and we'd love to be a part of that.”Jon-Michial Carter, of Houston, Texas, is founder of ChartSpan, an automated tool that allows users to upload, store and manage healthcare records on a smartphone, tablet or computer.He said and he his business partners applied to a handful of health care accelerators across the country and were finalists in three selections, but chose The Iron Yard above the others.“They were engaging, more personal and they spent more time with us,” Carter said. “They went out of their way to engage with us. I have high expectations and I can tell it's going to be better than that. It's an environment that matches our company's culture.”

The Iron Yard is the brainchild of former Wall Street stock broker and computer guru Peter Barth, who launched his program in Greenville last May.The Spartanburg program is the sister program to the Greenville accelerator. It will perform three functions, including the accelerator, co-working space and free computer programming classes for kids called “CoderDojo.”In May, The Iron Yard secured critical partnerships for the accelerator with a few national organizations, including Health 2.0, Mayo Clinic, AbbVie and Zebra Technologies.Participants in the accelerator will have the chance to present in the Health 2.0 conference in Silicon Valley later this year.On June 1, the co-working space opened. Local entrepreneurs can use space at The Iron Yard as their headquarters for $250 per month or get what's called a café membership for half that cost to use the facility as touchdown space. CoderDojo also kicked off in June.For more information, visit: www.theironyard.com.

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